One of our country's elite basketball players remains in a Russian prison, a country that has not shown any signs of deescalating its meaningless war against Ukraine. The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detaining the U.S. citizen. Her prison stay was extended two more months, to at least May 19, as her time in Russian custody reached one month on Thursday. After reports of her arrest surfaced earlier this month, calls for her release have fallen on their heads. She was attempting to travel with a common cannabis-derived product in her luggage at the Moscow airport. Fearing a large wave of American news coverage of Griner's detainment could make her situation worse due to representing an international diplomatic football, those in the two-time Olympic Gold medalists' inner circle have preferred to work privately in hopes of freeing her. The progress of any release is not known. The Biden administration had a team working on the case, according to the Secretary of State. The maximum jail sentence for carrying cannabis in Russia is 10 years.
In Russia, she has earned over $1 million per season. That is more than four times her yearly salary. The last time he played was on January 29th. The league's stars who play overseas get secondary income from her salary.
A member of Russia's Public Monitoring Commission told the news agency that Griner was sharing a cell with two women. According to the report, the prison beds were too short for her frame.
There are more than a dozen professional basketball players in Russia and Ukraine who spend the off-season playing in the league. Jonquel Jones, a reigning league Most Valuable Player, is one of the notable players who apply their trade in Eastern Europe.
The US State Department issued a travel advisory for Russia on March 6 due to the invasion of Ukraine. Less than two weeks before the release of Griner, the NBA season is set to start.
The biggest story going into the next season of the league would be the return of Griner. She shouldn't be in jail right now and every day she spends not as a free woman is an indictment of both Russia and America for arresting her and not finding a way to secure her release. Efforts need to be intensified as a result of her sentence being extended, in order to counter any measure that Russia can take to control the life of a high-profile American athlete and citizen. It is not an impossible path to navigate because of her fame.
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